Inflatable plane assembly
An inflatable toy plane assembly is provided. The plane assembly includes inflatable wings, an inflatable fuselage, an inflatable empennage (tail area stabilizers), and/or other inflatable elements. Not all elements of the inflatable plane assembly are required to be inflatable, e.g., the wings may be inflatable, and the fuselage may not. The plane assembly preferably includes one or more valves to facilitate the inflating and deflating of the plane's inflatable elements. In use, the inflatable plane assembly is deflated for compact storage (e.g., rolled up) and subsequently inflated when preparing the assembly for flight. The plane includes detachable wings and/or detachable tail stabilizers that are detached for storage, and subsequently reattached to the plane's fuselage and inflated for use.
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This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/226,819 filed Jul. 29, 2021, the entire contents of which are hereby fully incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to toy airplanes, including inflatable toy airplanes.
BACKGROUNDToy airplanes of all sizes are popular throughout the world. However, larger versions of toy airplanes are often bulky, and difficult to stow. In addition, the toy airplanes are oftentimes prone to breakage.
Accordingly, there is a need for a toy airplane with inflatable components that may be deflated for stowage and inflated for use. There also is a need for a toy airplane with inflatable components that is resistant to breakage. The presently disclosed assembly addresses these needs.
Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
In general, and according to exemplary embodiments hereof, an inflatable toy plane assembly is provided. In some embodiments, the plane assembly includes inflatable wings, an inflatable fuselage, an inflatable empennage (tail area stabilizers), and/or other inflatable elements. Not all elements of the inflatable plane assembly are required to be inflatable, e.g., in some embodiments the wings may be inflatable, and the fuselage may not. The plane assembly preferably includes one or more valves to facilitate the inflating and deflating of the plane's inflatable elements.
In use, the inflatable plane assembly may be deflated for compact storage (e.g., rolled up) and subsequently inflated when preparing the assembly for flight. In some embodiments, the plane includes detachable wings and/or detachable tail stabilizers that are detached for storage, and subsequently reattached to the plane's fuselage and inflated for use.
In one exemplary embodiment hereof, as shown in
Fuselage Assembly 100
In some embodiments as shown in
In some embodiments, the fuselage body 102 comprises a single piece extending from the first end 104 to the second end 106. In other embodiments, the body 102 may comprise two or more portions that are attached together to form the body 102 (e.g., two sections that are configured longitudinally to form the elongate body 102). The body 102 may include a hollow structure (e.g., a hollow tube), a solid structure (e.g., a lightweight solid structure of rigid foam or other preferably lightweight materials such as plastic), and/or any combinations thereof. Accordingly, the inner volume of the body 102 may be hollow and/or solid. The cross-sectional shape of the body 102 is preferably circular, oval, square, rectangular, other suitable shapes, and/or any combinations thereof. It also is contemplated that the body 102 comprise a telescoping structure that may be expanded for use and retracted for storage. While a single fuselage has been described above, it also is contemplated that the fuselage assembly 100 include other types of fuselages, including but not limited to, twin fuselages, with any of the fuselages with or without a foreplane.
It also is contemplated that the fuselage body 102 is inflatable, including an inflatable outer shell with a generally hollow inner volume. It also is contemplated that the fuselage body 102 is partially inflatable (some portions are inflatable and others are not), and any/or combinations thereof. For example, as shown in
In addition, while the fuselage body 102 is generally depicted as a cylinder with a generally constant diameter, it is understood that the fuselage body 102 may be formed as any elongate shape or form. For example, the fuselage body 102 may include a larger diameter in the area(s) of its interface with the wing assembly 200 and/or the empennage assembly 300 to provide addition support to these areas.
In some embodiments, the first end 104 is preferably formed as an aerodynamic shape such as, without limitations, a half-sphere, a half-spheroid, a cone, a pyramid, other suitable shapes, and any combinations thereof.
In some embodiments, as shown in
Because the structure of the attachment mechanism 108 may depend on whether the wing assembly 200 includes a single-piece wing member 202 or a multi-piece wing member 208, the wing assembly 200 will be described next followed by a description of the various associated attachment mechanism 108 embodiments.
Wing Assembly 200
In some embodiments as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
As known in the art, a dihedral angle in aeronautics is the upward angle of the left and right wing portions 203, 205 with respect to the horizontal. The dihedral angle has a strong influence on the dihedral effect (the amount of roll moment produced in proportion to the amount of sideslip).
However, in a second embodiment, the through-slot 112 of
In some embodiments, as shown in
In other embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the proximal end 214 of the left wing member 210 includes a left mount member 222, and the proximal end 220 of the right wing member 212 includes a right mount member 224. In some embodiments, the mount members 222, 224 include larger cross-sections than the cross-sections of the portions of the wing members 210, 212 that extend outward from the fuselage body 102 on the left and right sides, respectively. That is, the mount elements 222, 224 extend outward from the wing members 210, 212, respectively, so that the mount elements 222, 224 include a larger end footprint than the wing members 210, 212 themselves. In this way, the mount members 222, 224 may be referred to as bulbs or heads.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the cross sections of the respective entrances 230, 234 to each inner cavity 226, 228 correspond to the cross section of the portions of the wing members 210, 212 that extend outward from the left and right sides L, R of the fuselage body 102. In addition, the cross section of the inner portion of each inner cavity 226, 228 corresponds to the cross section of the mounting members 222, 224.
As shown, the width W1 of the left wing member 210 (which equals the width of the entrance to the left inner cavity 226) is smaller than the width W2 of the left mounting member 222 (which equals the width of the left inner cavity 226).
As shown, the height H1 of the entrance to the left inner cavity 226 (which equals the height of the left wing member 210 as shown in
Given the above, once inserted into the left inner cavity 226, the left mounting member 224 may not pass outward through the entrance of the cavity 226 due to its greater width W2 and height H2, and the left wing member 210 is thereby coupled to the fuselage body 102.
The above description regarding the left wing member 210, the left mounting member 222, and the left inner cavity 226 also applies to the right wing member 212, the right mounting member 224, and the right inner cavity 228, thereby coupling the right wing member 212 with the fuselage body 102. Accordingly, to avoid duplicative descriptions, this will not be described in further detail.
Notably, as shown in
While the mounting members 222, 224 and the corresponding inner cavities 226, 228 are shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
It is understood that a single-piece wing member 202 also may include one, both, and/or a combination of mounting members 222, 224 at its portion that may pass through the through-slot 112 to provide added support to the wing member 202 and to help in holding it in place within the slot 112. It also is understood that the through-slot 112 may include one, both, and/or a combination of inner cavities 226, 228 to receive and secure the one or both mounting members 222, 224, respectively.
In use, to configure the wing members 210, 212 to the fuselage body 102, the wing members 210, 212, including the associated mounting members 222, 224, are deflated. This results in the mounting members 222, 224 becoming deflated mounting members with reduced cross section areas. For example, as shown in
To remove the wing members 210, 212 from the fuselage body 102, the wing members 210, 212, including the associated mounting members 222, 224, are deflated thereby allowing the mounting members 222, 224 to be removed from the inner cavities 226, 228, and the wing members 210, 212 from the fuselage body 102.
This procedure also may be generally followed to configure the single-piece wing member 202 within the through-slot 112 (that is, inserted through the through-slot 112 in a deflated state, aligned therein as desired, and then subsequently inflated).
In other embodiments, the first and second mounting members 222, 224 may be secured within the first and second attachment mechanism 112-1, 112-2 via pressure fit, detents, notches, latches, clips, other types of attachment mechanisms, and any combinations thereof.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the sheath 238 is inflatable and/or deflatable. When in its deflated state, the through-hole 240 includes a diameter that is equal to or slightly larger than the diameter of the fuselage body 102 (in the area where the body 102 passes through the through-hole 240), and when in its inflated state, the diameter of the through-hole 240 is preferably slightly smaller than the diameter of the fuselage body 102 in this area. In this way, the fuselage body 102 may be inserted through the through-hole 240 and properly positioned when the sheath 238 is deflated, and subsequently, when the sheath 238 is then inflated, the through-hole 240 may tighten around the outer circumference of the fuselage body 102 thereby holding it snug and secure.
In some embodiments, the fuselage body 102 may include notches and/or other surface elements/textures about its outer circumference that may hold the body 102 in place within the sheath's through-hole 240 when the sheath 238 is inflated. In other embodiments, the inner circumference of the sheath 238 may include notches and/or other surface elements/textures that may hold the sheath 238 in place about the fuselage body 102 when the sheath 238 is inflated. In some embodiments, the surface notches/textures on the outer circumference of the fuselage body 102 may correlate with the surface notches/textures on the sheath's inner circumference thereby locking the sheath 238 in place about the fuselage body 102.
While the sheath 238 shown in
The wing assembly 200 also may include other types of wings such as, without limitation, mono, multi-bi/tri, closed, canards, other types of wings and any combinations thereof.
The inflatable architecture of the wing assembly 200 will be described in other sections.
Empennage Assembly 300
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
Empennage assemblies 300 using other types of tail and fin configurations also are contemplated, such as, without limitation, twin tails/booms, Y tails, V tails, X tails, tailless, other types of tail configurations, and any combinations thereof.
The inflatable architecture of the empennage assembly 300 will be described in other sections.
Inflatable Architecture of the Inflatable Elements
In some embodiments as shown in
In some embodiments as shown in
In some embodiments as shown in
In some embodiments as shown in
In some embodiments as shown in
While the inflatable elements E shown in
In some embodiments, the fuselage assembly 100 also is inflatable and may include an inflatable body B including any arrangement of inflatable elements E and valve mechanisms V as described herein.
In some embodiments, the inflatable bodies B (e.g., of the fuselage assembly 100, of the wing assembly 200, and/or of the empennage assembly 300) include support elements (e.g., rods, beams, dowels, plates, brackets, spars, ribs, stringers, etc.) that may provide additional support to the assemblies 100, 200, 300.
In some embodiments the fuselage assembly 100, the wing assembly 200, and/or the empennage assembly 300 configured with a first inflatable plane assembly 10 may be interchanged with a different fuselage assembly 100, wing assembly 200, and/or empennage assembly 300 to form a different inflatable plane assembly 10.
In some embodiments, the fuselage assembly 100, the wing assembly 200, and/or the empennage assembly 300 may be formed as characters such as superheroes or fairies, or fantastical creatures such as dragons or unicorns or other items with inflatable and membrane portions. The inflatable plane assemblies 10 also may be branded to provide marketing opportunities for companies, organizations, schools, colleges, sports teams, cities, airports, and other entities.
It is understood that any aspect and/or element of any embodiment of the assembly 10 described herein or otherwise may be combined in any way with any other aspect and/or element of any other embodiment to form additional embodiments of the assembly 10 all of which are within the scope of the assembly 10.
Where a process is described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the process may operate without any user intervention. In another embodiment, the process includes some human intervention (e.g., a step is performed by or with the assistance of a human).
As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “at least some” means “one or more,” and includes the case of only one. Thus, e.g., the phrase “at least some ABCs” means “one or more ABCs”, and includes the case of only one ABC.
As used herein, including in the claims, term “at least one” should be understood as meaning “one or more”, and therefore includes both embodiments that include one or multiple components. Furthermore, dependent claims that refer to independent claims that describe features with “at least one” have the same meaning, both when the feature is referred to as “the” and “the at least one”.
As used in this description, the term “portion” means some or all. So, for example, “A portion of X” may include some of “X” or all of “X”. In the context of a conversation, the term “portion” means some or all of the conversation.
As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “using” means “using at least,” and is not exclusive. Thus, e.g., the phrase “using X” means “using at least X.” Unless specifically stated by use of the word “only”, the phrase “using X” does not mean “using only X.”
As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “based on” means “based in part on” or “based, at least in part, on,” and is not exclusive. Thus, e.g., the phrase “based on factor X” means “based in part on factor X” or “based, at least in part, on factor X.” Unless specifically stated by use of the word “only”, the phrase “based on X” does not mean “based only on X.”
In general, as used herein, including in the claims, unless the word “only” is specifically used in a phrase, it should not be read into that phrase.
As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “distinct” means “at least partially distinct.” Unless specifically stated, distinct does not mean fully distinct. Thus, e.g., the phrase, “X is distinct from Y” means that “X is at least partially distinct from Y,” and does not mean that “X is fully distinct from Y.” Thus, as used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “X is distinct from Y” means that X differs from Y in at least some way.
It should be appreciated that the words “first,” “second,” and so on, in the description and claims, are used to distinguish or identify, and not to show a serial or numerical limitation. Similarly, letter labels (e.g., “(A)”, “(B)”, “(C)”, and so on, or “(a)”, “(b)”, and so on) and/or numbers (e.g., “(i)”, “(ii)”, and so on) are used to assist in readability and to help distinguish and/or identify, and are not intended to be otherwise limiting or to impose or imply any serial or numerical limitations or orderings. Similarly, words such as “particular,” “specific,” “certain,” and “given,” in the description and claims, if used, are to distinguish or identify, and are not intended to be otherwise limiting.
As used herein, including in the claims, the terms “multiple” and “plurality” mean “two or more,” and include the case of “two.” Thus, e.g., the phrase “multiple ABCs,” means “two or more ABCs,” and includes “two ABCs.” Similarly, e.g., the phrase “multiple PQRs,” means “two or more PQRs,” and includes “two PQRs.”
The present invention also covers the exact terms, features, values and ranges, etc. in case these terms, features, values and ranges etc. are used in conjunction with terms such as about, around, generally, substantially, essentially, at least etc. (i.e., “about 3” or “approximately 3” shall also cover exactly 3 or “substantially constant” shall also cover exactly constant).
As used herein, including in the claims, singular forms of terms are to be construed as also including the plural form and vice versa, unless the context indicates otherwise. Thus, it should be noted that as used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Throughout the description and claims, the terms “comprise”, “including”, “having”, and “contain” and their variations should be understood as meaning “including but not limited to”, and are not intended to exclude other components unless specifically so stated.
It will be appreciated that variations to the embodiments of the invention can be made while still falling within the scope of the invention. Alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose can replace features disclosed in the specification, unless stated otherwise. Thus, unless stated otherwise, each feature disclosed represents one example of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
The present invention also covers the exact terms, features, values and ranges, etc. in case these terms, features, values and ranges etc. are used in conjunction with terms such as about, around, generally, substantially, essentially, at least etc. (i.e., “about 3” shall also cover exactly 3 or “substantially constant” shall also cover exactly constant).
Use of exemplary language, such as “for instance”, “such as”, “for example” (“e.g.,”) and the like, is merely intended to better illustrate the invention and does not indicate a limitation on the scope of the invention unless specifically so claimed.
While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. An inflatable toy airplane comprising:
- a fuselage body including an inner volume and a first at least one cavity within the inner volume, the first at least one cavity including a first at least one cavity entrance extending from outside the fuselage body to the first at least one cavity;
- a first inflatable wing member adapted to be releasably attached to the fuselage body and including a first wing proximal end and a first wing distal end, the first wing proximal end including a first mount adapted to be received into the first at least one cavity, the first mount including a first cross section with a first cross section size, the first cross section size increasable from a first deflated cross section size when the first mount is deflated to a first inflated cross section size when the first mount is inflated, the first deflated cross section size less than a cross section of the first at least one cavity entrance and the first inflated cross section size greater than the cross section of the first at least one cavity entrance.
2. The inflatable toy airplane of claim 1 wherein the fuselage body is inflatable.
3. The inflatable toy of claim 1 further comprising at least one valve mechanism adapted to inflate and/or deflate the inflatable toy airplane.
4. The inflatable toy airplane of claim 1 further comprising a second inflatable wing member adapted to be releasably attached to the fuselage body and including a second wing proximal end and a second wing distal end, the second wing proximal end including a second mount;
- wherein the fuselage body includes a second at least one cavity within the inner volume, the second at least one cavity including a second at least one cavity entrance extending from outside the fuselage body to the second at least one cavity;
- wherein the second mount is adapted to be received into the second at least one cavity, the second mount including a second cross section with a second cross section size, the second cross section size increasable from a second deflated cross section size when the second mount is deflated to a second inflated cross section size when the second mount is inflated, the second deflated cross section size less than a cross section of the second at least one cavity entrance and the second inflated cross section size greater than the cross section of the second at least one cavity entrance.
5. The inflatable toy airplane of claim 4 wherein the fuselage body includes a front end and a rear end defining a first longitudinal axis, and the second at least one cavity entrance is oriented at the offset angle with respect to the longitudinal axis.
6. The inflatable toy airplane of claim 4 wherein the fuselage body includes a left side and a right side defining a second longitudinal axis, and the second at least one cavity entrance is oriented at an offset angle with respect to the second longitudinal axis.
7. The inflatable toy airplane of claim 1 wherein the fuselage body includes a front end and a rear end defining a first longitudinal axis, and the first at least one cavity entrance is oriented at an offset angle with respect to the first longitudinal axis.
8. The inflatable toy airplane of claim 1 wherein the fuselage body includes a left side and a right side defining a second longitudinal axis, and the first at least one cavity entrance is oriented at an offset angle with respect to the second longitudinal axis.
9. An inflatable toy aircraft comprising:
- an aircraft body including an inner volume and a first at least one cavity within the inner volume, the first at least one cavity including a first at least one cavity entrance extending from outside the aircraft body to the first at least one cavity;
- a first inflatable wing member adapted to be releasably attached to the aircraft body and including a first wing proximal end and a first wing distal end, the first wing proximal end including a first mount adapted to be received into the first at least one cavity, the first mount including a first cross section with a first cross section size, the first cross section size increasable from a first deflated cross section size when the first mount is deflated to a first inflated cross section size when the first mount is inflated, the first deflated cross section size less than a cross section of the first at least one cavity entrance and the first inflated cross section size greater than the cross section of the first at least one cavity entrance.
10. The inflatable toy aircraft of claim 9 further comprising a second inflatable wing member adapted to be releasably attached to the aircraft body and including a second wing proximal end and a second wing distal end, the second wing proximal end including a second mount;
- wherein the aircraft body includes a second at least one cavity within the inner volume, the second at least one cavity including a second at least one cavity entrance extending from outside the aircraft body to the second at least one cavity;
- wherein the second mount is adapted to be received into the second at least one cavity, the second mount including a second cross section with a second cross section size, the second cross section size increasable from a second deflated cross section size when the second mount is deflated to a second inflated cross section size when the second mount is inflated, the second deflated cross section size less than a cross section of the second at least one cavity entrance and the second inflated cross section size greater than the cross section of the second at least one cavity entrance.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Jul 29, 2022
Date of Patent: Nov 5, 2024
Patent Publication Number: 20230035376
Assignee: TERRA NOVA MEDIA, LLC (Burbank, CA)
Inventor: Scott Paterra (Los Angeles, CA)
Primary Examiner: Eugene L Kim
Assistant Examiner: Matthew B Stanczak
Application Number: 17/876,774
International Classification: A63H 27/00 (20060101); A63H 27/10 (20060101);
